Shades of Gray
by Phx
Summary: Missing scene from Skag Trendy's 'Hunter of the Shadows'. This is part of her 'Shades of Night' universe and takes place midway through chapter eight. Tobius made Sam a promise and he always keeps his promise.


_This is part of the Skag Trendy's 'Shades of Night' 'verse and it probably won't make much sense if you haven't read at least as far as chapter 8. Tobius Le Salle and this universe have been used with Skag's permission. The story is unbeta'd so please excuse any mistakes. I tried but I'm rather useless in that regards ____._

**Shades of Gray**

_**-Missing scene from Chapter 8 after Dean, Sam and Tobius get to the special spot but before Sam tries his first change-**_

_Tobius was padding on ahead of us. "__You'll love the freedom this gives you, Sam. But trust us to watch out for you, and we'll keep you safe…" (excerpt from Hunter of the Shadows)_

The large gray wolf moved soundlessly through the low grass. Careful to keep his heartbeat slow and his movements measured, he watched with sharp eyes; the herd of deer he'd been stalking was already forgotten with the scent of easier, slower, prey.

The last of his pack, the male was hungry and bold.

Careful to keep down wind, the predator moved closer, his nose twitching and his body humming with excitement. It had been days since it had eaten anything of substance, field mice and a small rabbit barely counting as an appetizer, so it salivated at the closeness of the kill. And then he saw it.

A human. A young one. But enough.

The human wasn't alone though and the wolf growled softly as the scent of the other predator curled his lips and savaged his heart. He would have to be even more careful now. Although comparable in size, the other wolf, so black he seemed born of the night, demanded extra caution and the large gray fought his natural instinct to submit, recognizing the werewolf as his alpha; however the lure of fresh meat, of the young human was stronger. The boy would be an easy kill. The wolf just needed to wait.

Crouching even lower to the ground, he watched.

----------------

Tobius sensed the wolf before he saw it. Large and shaggy, the gray beast blended against the grass, yellow eyes narrowed and focused straight ahead. The werewolf didn't need to look to know what, or rather who, the other animal was watching and he sighed at the creature's stupidity.

Surely it knew what they were; possibly not Sam as he hadn't undergone his first full change yet, but Dean reeked '_were_wolf' and it sang loudly to the creature's desperation if it was willing to hang around. The ancient non-lunar almost felt pity for it. _Almost._

The beast was skilled and cunning though to haven gotten so close. Even now Tobius wasn't certain his son sensed the danger.

He considered warning Dean but didn't want to alarm Sam. The poor kid was skittish enough, however as his son and grandson started a game of hide and seek, the risk increased and Tobius made his move.

Time to send the intruder away.

-----------------

The boy turned his back to the gray and the wolf licked his jaws in anticipation as he watched the black beast move away. Advancing slowly, he tensed, ready to launch itself at the unsuspecting youngster and rip his throat out –

A flash of movement from the right and the stunned gray was pinned on the ground by a heavier, savage weight before he could react. A lethal hold on his throat by powerful jaws cut off an angry growl and stilled all movement. It was another werewolf and instantly the gray wolf realized his mistake; the boy he was stalking wasn't prey, it was kin. Dangerous kin. And ferociously protected.

Immediately the gray submitted, his need for self-preservation overcoming his deep hunger. The werewolf didn't let him go right away though. Instead it tightened its grip fractionally harder in one final warning, as if there was any doubt left in the predator's keen mind about the boy being off limits, and then slowly released him and moved back.

Carefully the gray stood, his head low, his ears laid back, his tail between his legs. The other wolf stood between him and the boy as the young human shouted something and then disappeared into the brush following after where the black wolf had gone.

He would have to find something else to eat.

-------

Tobius was pleased that the gray backed off. He hadn't wanted to hurt the magnificent creature but if it persisted in stalking Sam, he wouldn't lose sleep over killing it either.

"_Got ya!" _

Sam's triumphant voice carried through the greenery and Tobius only sparred the intruder one final quick glance, knowing that the creature wouldn't be back, then he quickly disappeared back through the grass and moved towards his family. It was time to help Sam turn. Once the kid had fully accepted the change, the world would become a much safer place for him. For them all…

The end.


End file.
